Repairs completed on Bascule Bridge in Lorain

Workers on yesterday completed repairs on the bridge that carries Erie Avenue (SR 6) over the Black River.

The Ohio Department of Transportation hired The Ruhlin Co. of Sharon Center to beef up the counterweights used to raise the bridge decks to let ships pass underneath.

They also repaired the span lock that holds the two decks securely when the bridge is lowered.

As of yesterday afternoon it did not appear they will have to close the bridge again for work, said Chuck Fisher, general manager-structural group for The Ruhlin Co.

"Basically we finished today," Fisher said last night. "I know there was some inconvenience, but it was minimal, I hope."

ODOT must sign off on the project, but the bridge was inspected and approved yesterday by Mike Carlton, senior mechanical designer for EC Driver & Associates engineering firm, Fisher said.

"The last I heard, everybody was happy and work's completed," Fisher said.

The bridge is structurally is safe for cars and pedestrians to use, ODOT officials have said. However, the maintenance work was required to ensure the long life of the bridge and its moving parts.

Since announcing the project last summer, ODOT officials emphasized they wanted to avoid a repeat of 2008, when the bridge was stuck in the upright position for months. Problems repairing it caused weeks of traffic disruption in Lorain.

The Bascule Bridge is a Lorain landmark named for Medal of Honor recipient Charles J. Berry, a Marine who jumped on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

The bridge is the largest of its kind in the United States and the second largest bascule bridge in the world.